Introducing Cash Crops in Shifting Cultivation Regions – The Experience with Cardamom in Laos

Farmers are often blamed for destroying the tropical forest, especially in Laos. Converting shifting cultivation into cash crop based agriculture is frequently presented as the solution for merging forest protection and poverty alleviation, but many attempts have ended in failure. A rural development project has attempted to introduce medicinal cardamom (Amomum villosum) cultivation in the notably remote region of Phongsaly (northern Laos), for export to China. With nearly 300 ha planted, the crop now involves about 75% of the farmers in the region. Farmers fitted cardamom into their farming system, to suit their needs for sustainability with a crop compatible with existing practices. Results indicate that introducing a cash crop into a shifting cultivation region is possible if a greater attention is paid to: (i) appraise how the new crop fits into the farming systems; (ii) prioritise economic issues over agronomic matters, in particular identify markets, traders or commercial risks.     

Participatory forest conservation in Southwest lowland rainforests of Sri Lanka

Natural forest in Sri Lanka has been decreased significantly in the last few decades. The remaining natural forests especially in floristic region seven have undergone less conservation efforts in the past. Considering the capacity of the government and dependence on forest resources by local villagers, the only way for conservation of these forests in the Southwest lowland is forest management through local participation. Management plans for community-based resource management have been completed. However promotion of such management requires integrated measures, which are beyond jurisdiction of Forest Department. A holistic approach with political commitment concerning buffer zone villages and economic incentives with income generation opportunities supported by external inputs are expected to be implemented as a matter of urgency.     

Characteristics and dynamics of sandy natural forests in sandy forest-steppe ecotone in the northern area of China

l "trod notionViolent human disturbance results in global landscape and vegetation fragmentation, including thepolar landscape and alpine vegetation (Cox, 1993).In modern world, environment and development aretWo important problems, which have a direct effecton the destiny of human and the earth. Forestry,which undertakes double missions that are to optimize the environment and promote the development,is the crux to realize the unity of environment anddevelopment (Liu 1985).China is a develop…     

Biomass carbon pools of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. forests in subtropical China: Characteristics and potential

Abstract

Swedish forestry has successfully developed systems for sustained yield production of wood. Silvicultural techniques are today completely dominated (96%) by clear-felling methods. By contrast, Swedish natural forests and preindustrial cultural woodlands were ecologically and culturally diverse, with a substantial proportion having a continuous tree cover as a response to natural disturbance dynamics and preindustrial agricultural land management. If forest management systems do not mimic this diversity of disturbance regimes sufficiently well, the scope of sustainable forest management to include biodiversity and sociocultural values will not be met. This study estimated the past and present amount of one cultural and two natural disturbance regimes known to deliver continuous tree cover in two study areas located around two important biophysical and sociocultural transition zones in northern and southern Sweden, respectively. Several approaches were used to estimate the amount of remaining continuous tree cover forests. The results indicate that 9–10% of the study areas is made up by site types that historically would have held a large proportion of continuous tree cover forests. Estimates for productive site types show that only 1–2% of these sites remain in southern Sweden and 10–20% in northern Sweden. The data indicate that present management in both study areas is similar. Thus, these differences between the regions will disappear in a few decades. To achieve the aim of Swedish forest and environmental policies there is a clear need to develop and use alternative forest management methods on appropriate sites.     

Diversity and genetic structure of teak (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tectona grandis</Emphasis> L.f) in its natural range using DNA microsatellite markers

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) is considered to be an extraordinarily durable building timber with a worldwide reputation. Its widespread use has entailed the over-exploitation of natural forests and a large reduction in natural diversity. Fifteen microsatellite markers were used to study the genetic variability and structure of 166 teak trees distributed over the whole natural area of teak. Analysis showed that in the teak natural area there were four main centers of genetic variability. Two clusters were in India and could be considered as main centers of genetic diversity in teak. The third cluster mainly consisting of populations in Thailand and Laos was genetically very distinct from the Indian populations but presented only half as much allelic variability. A fourth cluster from Central Laos showed even less genetic variability. The use of SSR markers for conservation of teak forest diversity is discussed.     

Nepalese non-timber forest products: An analysis of the equitability of profit distribution across a supply chain to India

The collection and sale of non-timber forest products is a major source of livelihood in some regions of Nepal. The research reported in this paper compares the resource rent or contribution margin of collectors, village traders, Nepali wholesalers and Indian traders for two highly traded non-timber forest products of Nepal, namely asparagus and lichen. The causes of inequitable margins are investigated, and measures for increasing equity within the supply chain are identified. The research revealed that the margin of asparagus collectors was higher than for the lichen collectors, as lichen was subjected to the high transaction costs of illegal exports. Furthermore, collectors who stayed overnight in the forest during the collection period (overnight-stayers) to reduce travelling time had a higher margin than those who went home every day after collection (non-overnight-stayers). In four distinct trading chains analysed, Nepali wholesalers and Indian traders captured most of the resource rent. The difference in collection costs between overnight-stayers and non-overnight-stayers does not affect the margin of other stakeholders in the value chain. It was hypothesised that the inequity is exacerbated by a low level of understanding of marketing among collectors, and this is confirmed by survey results. It is argued that the margin of collectors could be increased by providing training, technical support, market and price information, and other forms of institutional support.     

Evaluation of natural forest regeneration as a part of land restoration in the Khentii massif,Mongolia

Forest stands in the semi-arid environment of northern Mongolia have an essential role in controlling ongoing desertification in the surrounding landscape. Over the last decade, the total forest area has decreased dramatically. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of natural regeneration as an essential element for ensuring sustainability of these forests. Based on field measurements from 120 plots in six sites, our assessment tool revealed five qualitative categories of forest regeneration, allowing us to assess impacts of both grazing and environmental conditions on the regeneration process.Grazing is a crucial factor and adversely affects regeneration. For sites with relatively low grazing intensity, low soil moisture levels represent the main reason for reduced regeneration. The approach to classification proposed in this study allows for the identification and interpretation of stand conditions where natural regeneration has failed. This study provides an important foundation to inform decisionmaking related to land protection and restoration actions.Our findings could be used in comparative studies and,importantly, may aid further mapping of Mongolian forests.     

Spice crops agroforestry systems in the East Usambara Mountains,Tanzania: growth analysis

A scarcity of cultivation land calls for more intensive and productive land use in the East Usambara Mountains in NE Tanzania. Spice crops could generate cash in higher parts of the mountains, but the present cultivation methods are depleting the valuable forest resources. The trial was established at the end of 2000 to find out how the two popular cash crops, cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton.) and black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), normally grown under the natural forest, will produce in intensive agroforestry system with two multipurpose farm trees, Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. and nitrogen fixing Gliricidia sepium Jacq. Results from 6 years showed that cardamom produced better with grevillea than in natural forest; 5.5 times more in the fourth year than the average in the area. The Land Equivalent Ratios for black pepper and cardamom showed that pepper intercropped with grevillea produced 3.9 times more than in monoculture whereas cardamom intercropped with grevillea and pepper produced 2.3 times more than in monoculture. Gliricidia improved the nitrogen and organic matter content of the soil over the levels found in natural forest. Soil acidity was, however, preventing the plants from using the available mineral nutrients more effectively.     

Impacts of artificial drainage on amphibian breeding sites in hemiboreal forests

Artificial drainage is widely used to increase timber production and improve its quality in northern boreal and temperate forests, but its impact on biodiversity remains largely unexplored. Amphibians are particularly dependent on forest wetland qualities to complete their complex life cycles. We explored the supply of water bodies, their occupancy by amphibians, and persistence during the larval period comparatively in drained and natural forest plots in two years in Estonia. The water bodies in drained plots were more abundant but less diverse and of generally lower quality than in natural plots; however, the drainage ditches were favoured by newts. In the dry spring of 2009, water bodies were used more frequently in natural than in drained plots, while in the typical spring of 2010, several natural depressions appeared in drained plots and the frequency of use of water bodies did not differ between natural and drained plots. However, most natural depressions used for breeding in drained plots dried out before tadpole metamorphosis; such drying was not observed in natural plots. Thus, by profoundly changing natural hydrology, intensive large-scale forest drainage reduces the variety of water bodies and the quantity and quality of amphibian breeding sites. Moreover, we suspect that, at least in some years, temporary water bodies in drained areas function as ecological traps for amphibians. We suggest that, where possible, intact wet-forest areas with remaining natural hydrology should stay undrained. In areas already drained, breeding sites for amphibians can be provided by creating depression-like enlargements to some ditches.     

Community Forestry in the State of Uttarakhand,India: Not Meeting the Needs of the Villagers

This community forestry case study examines village forest councils (van panchayat) in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand. We describe forest stocking levels of 20 community forests and address the question of whether these forests are in a position to provide commodity resources, such as fuelwood and fodder, on a sustainable basis. In addition, we report on the perceptions of the villagers on whether their respective community forest is meeting their fuelwood and fodder needs. At the biophysical level, none of the community forests were in a position to provide fuelwood and fodder on a sustainable basis. Most forests did not have adequate overstory stocking, and there was no evidence of deliberate management to improve the situation. Interviews with 400 villagers (20 in each village) supported the field findings. Villagers unanimously reported that their respective community forest was inadequate in supplying commodity needs. Furthermore, they wished the Forest Department would provide more technical and financial assistance to guide them with forest management needs. Women are a critical part of community forestry as they are the primary gatherers of fuelwood and fodder. Although the perceptions of women toward forest management issues are important, our interviews with female villagers indicate they play a passive role in decision-making. Decentralization in natural resources management sounds good at the theoretical level as it provides villagers with some authority and autonomy, but it cannot be effectively implemented without professional guidance coupled with resources. The villagers are ready and willing to improve the situation, but they do not have the resources to make change unilaterally—they need professional and financial support from the Forest Department.     

Soil erosion under a successional agroforestry sequence: a case study from Idukki District,Kerala, India

The Western Ghats of Kerala have been settled over the past 40 years by landless immigrants. Natural forests and cardamom (planted under forest canopy) have been widely replaced by small-holder cultivation. Settlers plant cassava and other annuals in the initial 3–5 years following clearing of the forest canopy. These crops are gradually replaced by black pepper, the dominant crop 5–15 years after clearing. Finally, other perennial crops, planted during the period when pepper was dominant, mature. A highly mixed “home garden” cropping phase is most common on sites 15–20 years after the forest canopy was removed. Soil erosion on sites cleared 1–3 years previously averaged 120 t/ha in the 1988 monsoon season. Over the same period, soil erosion under mature cardamom, pepper and mixed cultivation averaged 0.65, 3.5, and 1.45 t/ha respectively. Erosion levels appear to be related to cover at ground and intermediate (1–4 m) heights above the surface. Soil organic matter is high in the cardamom areas, declines rapidly when the forest canopy is cleared, remains low in pepper, and appears to rebuild to levels as more mixed agroforestry systems become established. Overall, there appears to be a succession in which high erosion and declining organic matter levels are temporary features associated with the conversion of sites from forests and cardamom to other phases.     

思茅地区公益林建设树种选择

思茅地区土地总面积 4 4 1 9万hm2 ,为云南第二大林区 ,具有“一区连三国” ,“一江通五邻”的区位优势 ,然而面临着水土流失严重、野生动植物物种减少 ,自然灾害频繁的现状 ,因此以治理澜沧江流域水土流失为主体的公益林建设有着重要的意义 ,按“天保”工程十年规划 ,思茅地区公益林建设总面积为 84 2万hm2 ,为此造林树种选择成了当务之急。树种选择需要考虑的因素有 :适地适树 ;树种结构配置 ;生产经营水平 ;种苗供应 ;林产业结构调整 ,国家重点工程建设需要 ;科技支撑 ;群众支持力度等。据此选择了以思茅松、红木荷等 33个树种 ,并介绍了其相应的林学特性     

Assessing forest sustainability trajectory with temporal changes in timber output and ecological reserve: the case of China

We classified forest resources into four modes: high timber output and high ecological reserve (Mode T-E); high timber output and low ecological reserve (Mode T-e); low timber output and low ecological reserve (Mode t-e); and low timber output and high ecological reserve (Mode t-E). Ecological reserve is stand volume per unit area of natural forests and total area of natural forests; timber output is defined as total area of timber forests and unit area of timber production. We used this classification system to examine forest development in China between 1950 and 2013. Data were acquired mainly from forest inventory statistics published by China’s Forestry Administration between the 1970s and 2013. I Information from the 1950s was acquired from relevant literature. Our analysis suggests that China’s forest resources transitioned from Mode t-E to Mode T-e during the period between the early 1950s and late 1970s, resulting in the destruction of both ecological vigor and timber resources. During the following 20 years, strategies were implemented to improve the ecological reserve and increase timber supply, resulting in a decline in the rate of forest degradation. Over the past decade, China’s forest resources have reached Mode T-E as a result of improvements in both the ecological reserve and the timber supply. Currently, the total area of timber forests is relatively low, representing the limiting factor for improvement in overall forest functionality. Nevertheless, along with increased efforts to protect natural forests and develop fast-growing forest plantations, it is hopeful that China’s forest resources will achieve a sustainable state. The four-mode TOER (timber output, ecological reserve) method introduced in this paper is a simple but an effective approach for characterizing the overall quality and quantity of forest resources. The data used for this type of evaluation are typically easy to obtain and reliable. This methodology has potential to be applied to forests in various regions and countries.     

论山区综合开发

我国山区地域广阔，人口众多，资源丰富，蕴藏着巨大的开发潜力，为了完成第二步战略目标，使山区脱贫奔小康，国家很重视山区综合开发，山区综合开发的内容和方针是“改土、治水、植树、修路、通电”；山区综合开发的核心是林业，突破口是经济林，山区开发项目，全部要按照工程项目组织实施和检查验收。在实施上要做了国民经济总体发展规划和部门规划。     

人工林和天然林的比较评价

对人工林和天然林的生态学和林学特性进行了比较和分析。指出天然林对病虫害的抵抗能力强,能持久地生产木材和发挥多重效益,并与很多物种的生存有密切关系。因人工林多样性低,稳定性差,轮伐期短,集约栽培的工业人工林尽管速生,但对地力消耗大,若没有优越的土地条件和额外的施肥,生产力将不能持久。提出我国应实行人工林和天然林并重的方针,要对大量发展工业人工林可能产生的隐患给予重视,要对已保存不多的原始林实行不改变林相的经营方式,避免将它们大面积地改变为人工林的作法。     

Public agencies and bureaus responsible for forest management and protection: an assessment of the fragmented institutional landscape of state governments in the United States

Public environmental and natural resource agencies have become increasingly diverse in mission and organization. Although holistic approaches for sustaining the physical attribute of large forest ecosystems have been advocated, attention has yet to focus on complementary organizational landscapes composed of integrated and co-ordinated public agencies. Results of a 2000 assessment of state agency conditions in the USA indicate that state government agencies affecting forest conditions are dispersed over all sectors and levels of state government; a state's lead forestry agency is often only a small piece in the puzzle of state agencies affecting forests; state agencies affecting forests engage primarily in forest resource use and management activities, yet some state agencies affect forest conditions by aggressively implementing responsibility for fisheries and wildlife, water pollutant management, and parks and recreation; consequences of fragmented state agency responsibility for forests are generally adverse, especially public confusion over agency roles and lack of integrated resource management; co-ordination among state agencies affecting forest conditions is modest and takes many forms; and the counterpart to state level agency diversity is the plethora of federal agencies that affect forest conditions, a situation that often deters state ability to integrate management of forests.     

三北防护林体系工程发展现状及对策

为了改善生态环境,中国政府于１９７８年开始在三北地区建设林体系。１５年来,共计完成人工造林１３３０ｈｍ＾２,零星植树３０亿株,森林被覆盖率已由１５年前的５．００５％提高到８．６％,不仅取得了明显的生态效益和经济效益,也走出一条有中国特色的林建设道路。今后的发展对策为：强化政府行为;调整经济政策;优化林种树种结构;增加科技含量。     

我国黄竹天然竹林资源现状和保护策略分析

黄竹在我国生长于热带北缘湿热地区,在澜沧江中下游河谷地区形成大面积的天然林分,是我国面积最大、最具代表性的天然热带性大型丛生竹林。由于我国绝大部分天然黄竹林不属于自然保护区和天然林保护范围,其资源的开发和利用没有科学的规划,近年来天然黄竹林群落和以黄竹林为基础的植被环境破坏严重,亟需对其资源进行保护研究。本文对黄竹的资源现状和面临的问题进行了调查和分析,提出了黄竹种质资源的保护建议。     

Floristic attributes of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton) growing areas in the Western Ghats of peninsular India

A field study was conducted in the Western Ghats of peninsular India to test the following two hypotheses: (1) lower floristic diversity for the cardamom hill reserves (CHR —a traditional agroforestry system of the tropics) compared to undisturbed evergreen forests and (2) a truncated vegetation structure for shade trees in the cardamom areas. The experimental sites involved three CHRs and an evergreen forest site.The CHRs, regardless of their locations, were characterized by lower floristic diversity and density than the evergreen forest site. The undisturbed forest site at Ayyappancoil registered the highest floristic richness and diversity (Simpson's floristic diversity index, D=0.93), followed by the well-managed CHR site, suggesting that managerial interventions may have a strong bearing on the floristic diversity of CHRs. The current suite of species in the CHRs included both heliophilic as well as shade-tolerant components. However, dominant tree species, their density and relative abundance exhibited marked variations among the CHR sites, albeit about one-third of the species were common at all sites.Stand physiognomy was characterized by the dominance of a single layer of trees in the CHRs, while the wet evergreen forest exhibited a multilayered canopy structure. Some of the lower height classes were poorly represented in the cardamom areas, whereas the evergreen forests depicted an inverse J shaped height distribution pattern. Implicit in the truncated stand structure of the CHR is the poor regeneration status, due to systematic removal of the lower size classes.     

先秦两汉时期中国北方天然林木分布探究

孢粉、考古及历史文献等资料显示,先秦两汉时期中国北方地区林木分布广泛,种类繁多。春秋以后北方多数地区气温有所波动,树种结构也相应地发生了变化。春秋至东汉时期,东北地区受气候变冷影响,乔木植被中针叶林比率有所增加,落叶阔叶林减少,同时森林分布范围缩小;黄淮海平原地区针、阔叶乔木随气候变化互有消长;黄土高原区未有森林生长,河谷及山地植被以阔叶树种占优的混交林为主。除气候因素外,人类活动也影响着天然植被的变化。受秦汉时期经济、政治、军事等活动的影响,除东北地区天然林木保存较好外,北方其余地区林木破坏较为严重。